Winter Walk

Today is blustery, with high winds and bitter cold. Every school district is closed. Further north, lake effect snow has shut down entire cities. The howling wind has reduced visibility to zero and drifted snow across streets like walls. I am glad not to have to venture out into the brutality. I am treasuring these last few days of sleeping late, wrapping myself in layers, and sipping hot tea around the house.


I am glad winter finally arrived. I have shoveled the driveway almost every day these last few weeks, with a few more inches of snow arriving almost daily. I love seasonality, precisely for the very changes it brings to the landscape. If asked to narrow it down, I would say that spring is my favorite season: the transformations are most dramatic then. Without the harshness of cold winters, I would treasure the sweetness of spring less.

However, even to a fan of winter such as myself, this biting frigidity is too much. Outdoor recreation would be a torturous, miserable pursuit on such a day. Over at In Blue Ink, Nadine has been posting photos from warmer days to cheer herself through these cold spells. Jo(e) has also been comforting herself with summertime photos. Maybe if I get too cold, I will look for some warmth radiating photos as well.


In the meantime, I offer these pictures hastily snapped on a walk in our woods Friday afternoon. [Although the falling snow doesn’t show up well in the photos, it was really coming down at the time, and I was worried about the camera getting too wet.] Obviously, my photos will provide little comfort to the diehard winter-haters lurking amongst us. But I find consolation in them, if only for the reminder that winter is not always this cruel. Some days it is a delight.